Dispensing mechanism



April 1936- w. R. ZWOYER DiSPENSING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Nov. 28, 19 33 INVENTOR I m W J.

Y Y M, 8 I ATTORNEYS April 14, 1936. w. R. ZWOYER DISPENSING MECHANISM Original Filed Nov. 28, 1953 2 sheets-s eet 2 INVENTOR MW ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 14, 1936 PATENT orrlcr.

DISPENSING MECHANISM Walter Ray Zwoyer, Maywood, N. 1., assignor, by

mcsne assignments, to Transparent-Wrap Machine Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Original application November as, 1933, Serial No. 700,097. Divided and this application Novemher so, 1934, Serial No. 155,424. In Can ada May 17, 1934 5 Claims.

This invention relates to a feeding device which is adapted for use quite generally as a means of dispensing merchandise in measured lots or quantities, and is particularly adapted for use as a part of any more comprehensive machine in which there may be a need to include such a mechanism, as, for example, the machine disclosed in United States application, Serial No. 700,097, filed November 28, 1933, (now PatentNo. 1,986,422, dated January 1, 1935), of which this application is a division.

The invention consists in improving a feeding mechanism of the above-described character by so modifying, correlating and adding to its parts that it will, with a greater degree of certainty, measure out and deliver single units or a specified number of units of merchandise, supplied to the device in units of uniform shape and size, such as candies, medicinal tablets, pills, etc., or uniform quantities of merchandise supplied in bulk form such as sugar, salt, coffee, tea, cereals, etc.

Referring to the drawings which are illustrative of one form of the invention,-

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a feeding mechanism embodying the invention.

Fig..2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a part of a machine including means for intermittently driving the feed mechanism.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a part of the mechanism for intermittently driving the feed mechanism.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken through the feed mechanism and showing the vibrators.

Fig. 7 is a detail of the vibrators.

A feeding device embodying.the invention in the form of the one illustrated by the accompanying drawings is adaptedto dispense merchandise to two units of a duplex machine. It may be mounted on a platform 200 secured to any appropriate means of support, and may comprise, in its preferred form, two measuring and feeding disks M, M, which are shown in plan in Fig. 2. A section taken on the line ll in Fig. 2 is shown in Fig. 1. Each of the feeding disks M, 1W is mountedto rotate in a horizontal plane, being fixed to the upper end of a shaft 20! or 202. These shafts are carried in bearings on the platform 200, the shafts being intermittently driven by -means hereinafter described. Each feed disk carries an appropriate number of feeding and measuring tubes 203, the lower ends of which extend closely adjacent to a feed .table 204,.which is stationary on the platform 200. The upper ends of the feeding and measuring tubes are open, and partially surrounding them are rims 205, 206, which, with side walls 201, 208 (see Fig. 2), constitute a box for the supply of articles to be fed. Over this box is arranged a funnel 200 designed to receive the articles from any suitable source. Normally, the container or hopper 2l0 thus formed will be partly full of the articles to be fed. The upper sides of the disks M, M are bridged by a stationary plate 2 (Fig. 2) so as to prevent the articles to be fed from falling downwardly around the disks.

Generally speaking, each of the tubes is de- -signed to be filled by the articles lying above them in the container 2l0 during its movement around its circular path, and when it reaches the discharge position over the tube 24 (see the right-hand portion of Fig. 1) it discharges its load by gravity into the tube, which may serve as a means for feeding the dispensed merchandise to some desired place where it may be packaged or otherwise disposed of. with many small articles, such as certain, types of candy, there is a tendency to clog the upper ends of the tubes 203, so that they either do not contain the full measured amount when they arrive at the discharge position, or fail entirely to discharge their contents, or both. This is probably due to the weight or pressure of the body of the materials to be fed which is present above the tubes in the feed box or hopper.

The present invention provides a novel feature in this type of feed mechanism, in that it acts to the feed disk, but is so proportioned that a space 2 or 2| 5 is left between the end of the brush and the encircling rim 205 or 206. The bristles of the brush in each case extend close to the top of the disk, so as to hold back any material from the middle of the feed box on the delivery side, thus preventing any greater quantity being fed than is contained in the particular tube 203 which is in feeding position. This is rendered more positive by plates 2 Ma, 2 i 5a.

By reference to Figs. 1 and 2 it will be seen that the right-hand disk is in the position where one of its tubes 203 is in alignment with the tube 24 and this tube 203 has discharged its contents. The next succeeding tube 203 is fully loaded, so that at the next forward movement of the feed disk M such succeeding tube is brought to the discharge position. In the meantime the feed tube which has previously been emptied has gone forward one step and begins to receive some of the loose candy which has worked through the space 2| 4 from the main portion of the hopper to an adjoining auxiliary portion. This candy is under no pressure or weight to speak of, and drops easily down to the bottom of the tube. On the next movement of the feed disk the tube 203 is practically or completely filled so that when this tube moves around under the body of the material in the main portion of the feed box or hopper it is already in a filled condition and can not be clogged or choked in any way. At the same time the construction is such that no dangerous surplus of candy or other article can pass through thespace 2 l4, the flow from the main portion of the feed box or hopper being laterally outward along the top of the disk and being self-regulating if the space 2 i4 is properly proportioned.

The two feed disks may be given proper intermittent motion designed to carry each tube 203 step by step over the feed pipe 24. The means for accomplishing this, as shown in the drawings, comprises a main vertical shaft 220 which may be be driven by a pawl lever 22i, as is clearly shown in Fig. 5. This pawl lever is pivoted on the shaft, and carries at its extreme end a pawl 222, which acts upon a ratchet 223 fixed to the shaft to impart intermittent movements to the latter'as the lever 22! oscillates. A pawl 224 is arranged on a fixed part of the machine, which pawl acts on the same ratchet wheel 223 and prevents reverse movement of the shaft during the idle movements of the pawl 222. The end 225 of the lever 22! enters a reciprocating yoke 226 mounted upon a rocking lever 221. This rocking lever 221 is clearly shown on Fig. 4, being pivoted to a stationary fulcrum 228, and being driven by a crank 229 mounted on the shaft 96 through the medium of a pitman 230 which connects the crank with an adjustable pivot 23l held in a slot 232 formed in the lever 221. Thus, on every rotation of the shaft 96 the feeder shaft 220 is given a forward angular movement, the movements of the shaft being intermittent. As will be best seen in Fig. 3, these intermittent-movements of the feeder shaft 220 are transmitted to the shafts 2M and 202 by a gear train which comprises a large gear 235 keyed to the feeder shaft 220 and meshing directly with a pinion 236 keyed to the lower end of the shaft 201 which operates the right-hand feed disk M and indirectly, through the medium of an idle gear 231, Fig. 3, with a pinion 238 connected to the shaft 202. This indirect connection is provided to reverse the rotation of the feed disk M since it has been found in practice that with a feed supply which is common to two individual disks (such as is provided by the feed box and hopper), trouble is occasioned if the two feed disks rotate in the same direction, which trouble is avoided by reversing the direction of the disks.

It sometimes happens, in the feeding of particular articles such as chocolate-covered nuts or the like, that there is some adherence of the articles to the feed tubes 203, or a slight choking or jamming within these tubes. It has been found that this can be obviated by striking one or more blows on the tube 203 when approximately in the feed position. In Figs. 2, 6 and 7 a simple device is shown for accomplishing this result. In these figures one or more strikers 240 are illustrated, which may be-formed of wood or other suitable material. These strikers may be pivoted on a common stud 242 and are provided with springs 243, which may lead to a common pin 244. Being of a length such as to be engaged by the various feeding tubes 203, and being urged by the springs in a direction opposite to the direction in which they are swung when engaged and moved by the feed tubes. it will be seen that, as the feed disks M, NP rotate, each striker will be moved outwardly by one of the feeding tubes until it escapes the tube, whereupon it will strike the next succeeding tube with a blow which is determined by the tension on the springs 243. By the simple expedient of making the strikers of varying lengths, the timing of the blows may be accurately adjusted. It has been found that the best results are attained if the final blow is delivered just as the tube 203 arrives at its discharge position. One or more additional blows may be given slightly before this position is reached.

What is claimed is:--

1. A merchandise dispensing mechanism comprising a hopper including a main' portion to serve as a source of supply of merchandise to be dispensed and an auxiliary portion in communication therewith, a barrier so disposed in the hopper as to impede without preventing the gravitation of merchandise from its main portion, thus permitting small quantities thereof to be distributed over the adjacent area only of the bottom of its auxiliary portion as merchandisc is withdrawn from the latter, a discharge passage, a relatively movable feed-controlling element having an opening therein to receive a measured charge of merchandise, the opening being shiftable, by movement of the controlling element, from a position over and in communication with the discharge passage, but not in communication with the merchandise-covered portion of the hopper bottom, to a position under and in communication with the merchandisecovered area 'of the bottom oi. the auxiliary portion of the hopper, thence to a position under and in communication with the main portion of the hopper and thence again to its position over and in communication with the discharge passage, the mechanism being such that the cycle of movements of the feed-controlling element may be repeated indefinitely, and means to prevent the discharge of merchandise from the opening during its movement from its position in communication with the hopper to its position in communication with the discharge passage, the barrier being adapted to serve as a brush and so positioned as to sweep off surplus merchandise above the upper level of the opening in the feed-controlling element as it passes from its position under the main portion of the hopper to its position over the discharge passage.

2. A merchandise dispensing mechanism, as defined by claim 1, of which the feed-controlling element is a disk so positioned with respect to the parts of the hopper and the discharge passage that the opening in the disk may be suecessively moved by the rotation of the disk from its position over the discharge passage to its merchandise receiving positionunderthe auxiliary portion of the hopper, thence to its position under the main portion and thence to its position over the discharge passage.

3. A merchandise dispensing mechanism, as defined by claim 1, 0! which the feed-controlling element is.a disk providedwith a plurality of the merchandise receiving-openings, the disk and its openings being so positioned with respect to the parts of the hopper and the discharge passage that the rotation of the disk may cause each of the openings to be successively moved from a position over and in communication with the discharge passage to a merchandise receiving position under and in communication with the auxiliary portion of the hopper, thence to a position under and in communication with the main portion and thence to its position over the discharge passage.

4. A merchandise dispensing mechanism, as defined by claim 1, of which the feed-controlling element is a disk having a plurality of the merchandise receiving openings spaced circumferentially therein, the disk and its openings being so positioned with respect to the parts of the hopper and the discharge passage that the ro.-

tation of the disk may cause each of the openings to be moved in succession from a position over and in communication with the discharge passage to a merchandise receiving position under and in communication with the auxiliary portion of the hopper, thence to a position under and in communication with the main portion and thence to its position over. the discharge passage.

5. A merchandise dispensing mechanism, as defined by claim 1, having means for tapping and thereby jarring the feed-controlling element when the charge receiving opening is in communication with the discharge passage to insure the discharge of merchandise from the opening into the passage.

' WALTER RAY ZWOYER. 

